Serbian Radical Party
Encyclopedia
The Serbian Radical Party is a far-right Serbian nationalist
political party in Serbia
, founded in 1991. Currently the second-largest party in the Serbian National Assembly
, it has branches in three of the nations that currently border Serbia – all former federal republics of Yugoslavia
. The party is registered as the Party of Serb Radicals
in Montenegro, the Serbian Radical Party of the Republika Srpska
in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Radical Party of the Serbs in Macedonia
. It was active in the Republika Srpska
and in the early 1990s founded the Party of Danube Serbs
in the Republic of Serbian Krajina
, which later broke its ties with the SRS.
Vojislav Šešelj
led the party as president during and after the Bosnian War
before surrendering to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
(ICTY) in 2003 to stand trial for alleged war crimes. Deputy president Tomislav Nikolić
took over as de facto leader and supported the accession of Serbia to the European Union
, which Šešelj and his faction continued to oppose. Nikolić and his faction resigned from the party in 2008 over this disagreement, and went on to launch the Serbian Progressive Party
(SNS).
Convent, the most important such organisation in the interwar era, failed to win a single seat in parliament during the 1930s. Both the radical right's general association with Germany, and the endorsement of nationalist aims by the leading centrist parties such as the People's Radical Party
undermined support for the radical right. A surge in their activities during the early 1990s was largely the result of the wars in Croatia
and Bosnia
, economic breakdown, sanctions imposed by the UN, and not least the nationalistic policies pursued by Serbian President Slobodan Milošević
from 1987 onwards.
Serbian Chetnik Movement (SČP) and the National Radical Party (NRS). The SČP had been formed in 1990, although it was denied official registration due to its overt identification with the historical Chetniks
. Formation of the new party followed Šešelj's breakaway from the Serbian Renewal Movement
(SPO) due to internal quarrels with Vuk Drašković
; the SPO having been founded by the merger of Šešelj's former Serbian Freedom Movement and Drašković's faction from the Serbian National Renewal
. Šešelj was chosen as the first president of the SRS while Tomislav Nikolić
, a member of the NRS, became deputy president. Led by Milošević, the Socialist Party
(SPS) contributed greatly to the rise of the SRS through its use of the media. With the SRS allowed to promulgate its ultranationalist views on state television, the SPS could present itself as a comparatively moderate, yet still patriotic party. Šešelj promoted popular notions of an "international conspiracy against the Serbs," the foremost of which involved Germany, the Vatican
, the CIA
, Italy, Turkey
, as well as the centrist Serbian political parties. Such conspiracy theories were also promoted by Milošević-controlled media. In 1991, Šešelj became a Member of Parliament as an independent candidate, and created a belligerent image by engaging in physical fights with opponents of the regime.
The 22.6% of the vote won by the SRS in the 1992 parliamentary election
confirmed the party's rapid rise and made it the second largest parliamentary party. Šešelj campaigned for the election on issues such as driving Albanians
out of Kosovo
to Albania
, expelling Muslims from Sandžak
, and forcing the Croats
out of Serbia. Having helped engineer the party's election to parliament, the SPS formed an informal coalition with the SRS, and collaborated on ousting moderate politicians from public office. However, by late 1993 the parties had turned against each other. Milošević saw it necessary to change his policies and distance himself from the SRS in order for his new peacemaking orientation to be taken seriously by the West, as well as to counter the effects of United Nations sanctions against the country. Many socialists also feared competition from the party based on its strong growth record. As discord erupted among the opposition including the SRS, Milošević called new elections in 1993
. These cut SRS support almost in half, while the SPS increased its share of the vote from 28% to 38%. Although most people had grown tired of the wars, UN sanctions and the catastrophic economic situation, the SRS had also been subjected to powerful regime propaganda and exclusion by the media. Following Milošević's agreement to the Dayton accords in 1995 to bring peace to Bosnia, Šešelj denounced Milošević as the worst traitor in Serbian history, and likened the event to Serbia's greatest defeat since the Battle of Kosovo
fought against the Ottoman Empire
in 1389.
In 1995, Šešelj and the SRS joined in a "technical coalition" with the centrist Democratic Party
(DS) and the Democratic Party of Serbia
(DSS). This gave Šešelj a degree of democratic legitimacy, although the coalition withered away by the end of the same year. When Šešelj beat the SPS candidate for the 1997 presidential election, despite the contest being declared invalid due to low turnout, he was again brought into the Serbian government. In 1998 the SRS and SPO entered the so-called "war" government, and as Deputy Prime Minister, Šešelj passed new information laws and helped launch propaganda offensives against Kosovo Albanians
. US officials in turn branded him a "fascist", while the US Department of State
declared that they would never deal with him. Following the 1999 NATO occupation of Kosovo
, Šešelj resigned from government until his party was enticed to re-enter the administration by the SPS. As the party had held posts under Milošević's regime, it was excluded from the Democratic Opposition of Serbia
(DOS), and suffered a major defeat in the 2000 parliamentary election
when Milošević was ousted.
During the Yugoslav Wars
some SRS supporters including Šešelj were active in paramilitary units loyal to Milošević, serving as his "iron fist" during military campaigns. Milošević's regime at times supported Šešelj and provided him with arms, whilst at others it accused him of war crimes. The SRS was also provided with resources to establish paramilitary volunteer forces such as the White Eagles
. As the SRS protested against Milošević's extradition to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
(ICTY) in 2001, Milošević urged his supporters to vote for the SRS rather than his own SPS. The ICTY also indicted Šešelj, who has been on trial since 2007 following his surrender in 2003. Deputy President Nikolić became the new de facto SRS leader and presented a more moderate face, with a new approach to international cooperation and a vision of Serbia acting as a "link between the West and the East."
, the SRS condemned cooperation with the war crimes tribunal, corruption scandals in government, poor living standards, and slightly moderated its formerly aggressive rhetoric. While it won a clear plurality with 28% of the vote and 82 seats, the party was still viewed as a pariah by its democratic rivals and was thus left in opposition. In the 2007 parliamentary election
it won 29% of the vote and 81 seats. The SRS caucus in parliament elected Nikolić as its president and Aleksandar Vučić
vice-president. Nikolić was later chosen as parliamentary speaker, supported by the DSS amidst a deadlock in coalition talks. He stepped down just five days later, as the DS and DSS agreed to form a coalition government.
At the National Assembly's first session on 14 February 2007, politicians voted overwhelmingly to reject the proposal by UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari
on the preliminary resolution of the status of Kosovo
. New elections were called in 2008 as the DS-DSS coalition collapsed due to EU recognition of Kosovo's declaration of independence
. In the 2008 parliamentary election
the SRS again won 29% of the vote, and 78 seats, leading to the formation of a DS-SPS-led government coalition. The party also won 17 seats in the Kosovska Mitrovica
-based Community Assembly of Kosovo and Metohija consisting of Kosovan Serb municipalities who defied Kosovo's declaration of independence.
." Nikolić and his group were officially expelled from the SRS the next day, in response to which Nikolić announced that he would form his own party. On 14 September, SRS general secretary Aleksandar Vučić
also resigned from the SRS. Nikolić and Vučić then launched the Serbian Progressive Party
(SNS) on 21 October of the same year.
Following their departure, Dragan Todorović
took over as the party's acting leader from Nikolić; however the office of deputy chairman was officially abolished. By April 2011 the SRS had about 7% of support in opinion polls, while the SNS coalition, which included the New Serbia
party (NS), held about 40%.
, and it subscribes to the idea of Greater Serbia
which, according to Šešelj, is the raison d'être of the party. The party also describes itself as anti-globalist
, and wants to abandon Serbian attempts to become a member of the European Union. Instead, it aims to establish pan-Slavic "brotherly" ties with Russia
, as well as ties with China
, and to unite all Balkan Serbs into a single country. In 2007 it advocated the use of force to block the independence of Kosovo. The party remains loyal to the legacy of late President Milošević, and would bring an end to searches for fugitives wanted by the ICTY such as Ratko Mladić
and Radovan Karadžić
; the party regards both to be "Serbian heroes".
Under the leadership of Nikolić the party steered more towards the centre of Serbian politics, focusing on social issues such as unemployment and poverty rather than militant nationalism. Nikolić and his supporters eventually broke away from the party in 2008 due to his support for the accession of Serbia to the European Union
, which conflicted with the position of Šešelj's group who thereafter maintained the party's hardline ideology.
and his Liberal Democratic Party of Russia
, as well as France's Jean-Marie Le Pen
and his National Front. The party formerly counted Iraq's Saddam Hussein
and the Ba'ath Party as one of its political and financial backers, as the parties found common cause in defiance of the United States. Similar sentiment led the party to back Libya's Muammar Gaddafi
following the 2011 military intervention in Libya
by NATO. Serbia and Libya had maintained good relations since Gaddafi vocally opposed NATO intervention in Serbia in the 1990s, while he also backed Serbia's opposition to Kosovo's independence.
Serbian nationalism
Serbian nationalism refers to the ethnic nationalism of Serbs. Originally arising in the context of the general rise of nationalism in the Balkans under Ottoman rule, under the influence of Serbian linguist Vuk Stefanović Karadžić and Ilija Garašanin....
political party in Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, founded in 1991. Currently the second-largest party in the Serbian National Assembly
National Assembly of Serbia
The National Assembly of Serbia is the unicameral parliament of Serbia. It is composed of 250 proportionally elected deputies elected in general elections by secret ballot, on 4 years term. The National Assembly elects the President of the National Assembly who presides over the sessions...
, it has branches in three of the nations that currently border Serbia – all former federal republics of Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
. The party is registered as the Party of Serb Radicals
Party of Serb Radicals
Party of Serb Radicals is a political party in Montenegro. It is the Montenegrin branch of the Serbian Radical Party. The SSR is led by Duško Sekulić. The SSR was part of the Serb List....
in Montenegro, the Serbian Radical Party of the Republika Srpska
Serbian Radical Party of the Republika Srpska
The Serbian Radical Party of the Republika Srpska is a Serbian ultra-nationalist political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina....
in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Radical Party of the Serbs in Macedonia
Radical Party of the Serbs in Macedonia
The Radical Party of the Serbs in Macedonia is a political party in the Republic of Macedonia. It is the Macedonian branch of the Serbian Radical Party. It won 0.4% of the vote in the 2008 parliamentary election....
. It was active in the Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska is one of two main political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
and in the early 1990s founded the Party of Danube Serbs
Party of Danube Serbs
The Party of Danube Serbs is a Serb minority political party in Croatia. It was formed as the Serbian Radical Party of the Republic of Serbian Krajina by Rade Leskovac in the early 1990s...
in the Republic of Serbian Krajina
Republic of Serbian Krajina
The Republic of Serbian Krajina was a self-proclaimed Serb entity within Croatia. Established in 1991, it was not recognized internationally. It formally existed from 1991 to 1995, having been initiated a year earlier via smaller separatist regions. The name Krajina means "frontier"...
, which later broke its ties with the SRS.
Vojislav Šešelj
Vojislav Šešelj
Vojislav Šešelj, JD is a Serbian politician, writer and lawyer. He is the founder and president of the Serbian Radical Party and was vice-president of Serbia between 1998 and 2000...
led the party as president during and after the Bosnian War
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
before surrendering to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
The International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, more commonly referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or ICTY, is a...
(ICTY) in 2003 to stand trial for alleged war crimes. Deputy president Tomislav Nikolić
Tomislav Nikolic
Tomislav "Toma" Nikolić is a Serbian politician, President of the Serbian Progressive Party. He is also a former member of the Serbian Radical Party, where he served as Deputy Leader of the party and parliamentary leader during the absence of Vojislav Šešelj...
took over as de facto leader and supported the accession of Serbia to the European Union
Accession of Serbia to the European Union
The accession of Serbia to the European Union is the process of the Republic of Serbia being admitted into the framework of the European Union as a full-fledged member state.Serbia officially applied for European Union membership on 22 December 2009...
, which Šešelj and his faction continued to oppose. Nikolić and his faction resigned from the party in 2008 over this disagreement, and went on to launch the Serbian Progressive Party
Serbian Progressive Party
The Serbian Progressive Party is a right-wing political party in Serbia.-History:The Serbian Progressive Party formed as a group of breakaway MPs in parliament from the Serbian Radical Party led by Tomislav Nikolić over disagreements about the direction of the party. Its founding congress was...
(SNS).
Background
From the end of the nineteenth century, Serbian politics was constantly plagued by unsolved national problems, key amongst them the large number of Serbs living outside the Serbian national state. Nevertheless, radical right wing organisations were unable to gather significant support until the 1990s; Dimitrije Ljotić'sDimitrije Ljotic
Dimitrije Ljotić was a Serbian politician and Nazi German collaborationist during World War II.Although born in Belgrade he spent most of his life in Smederevo. His ancestors came to Serbia from the village of Blace in what is today Greek Macedonia during the first half of 19th century...
Convent, the most important such organisation in the interwar era, failed to win a single seat in parliament during the 1930s. Both the radical right's general association with Germany, and the endorsement of nationalist aims by the leading centrist parties such as the People's Radical Party
People's Radical Party
The People's Radical Party of Serbia was a political party formed on January 8, 1881, which was active in the Kingdom of Serbia and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes...
undermined support for the radical right. A surge in their activities during the early 1990s was largely the result of the wars in Croatia
Croatian War of Independence
The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between forces loyal to the government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia —and the Serb-controlled Yugoslav People's Army and local Serb forces, with the JNA ending its combat...
and Bosnia
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
, economic breakdown, sanctions imposed by the UN, and not least the nationalistic policies pursued by Serbian President Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...
from 1987 onwards.
Foundation and early years
The Serbian Radical Party (SRS) was formed on 23 February 1991 by the merger of Vojislav Šešelj'sVojislav Šešelj
Vojislav Šešelj, JD is a Serbian politician, writer and lawyer. He is the founder and president of the Serbian Radical Party and was vice-president of Serbia between 1998 and 2000...
Serbian Chetnik Movement (SČP) and the National Radical Party (NRS). The SČP had been formed in 1990, although it was denied official registration due to its overt identification with the historical Chetniks
Chetniks
Chetniks, or the Chetnik movement , were Serbian nationalist and royalist paramilitary organizations from the first half of the 20th century. The Chetniks were formed as a Serbian resistance against the Ottoman Empire in 1904, and participated in the Balkan Wars, World War I, and World War II...
. Formation of the new party followed Šešelj's breakaway from the Serbian Renewal Movement
Serbian Renewal Movement
The Serbian Renewal Movement is a political party in Serbia.It was founded in 1990.In 1997 a dissident group abandoned the party and formed New Serbia....
(SPO) due to internal quarrels with Vuk Drašković
Vuk Draškovic
Vuk Drašković , leader of the Serbian Renewal Movement, is a Serbian politician who served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Yugoslavia and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of State Union of Serbia and Montenegro and Serbia.He graduated from the University of Belgrade's Law School in 1968...
; the SPO having been founded by the merger of Šešelj's former Serbian Freedom Movement and Drašković's faction from the Serbian National Renewal
Serbian National Renewal
The Serbian National Renewal was the first Serbian nationalist political party founded in the country. It was formed in 1989 by Vuk Drašković, Mirko Jović and Vojislav Šešelj...
. Šešelj was chosen as the first president of the SRS while Tomislav Nikolić
Tomislav Nikolic
Tomislav "Toma" Nikolić is a Serbian politician, President of the Serbian Progressive Party. He is also a former member of the Serbian Radical Party, where he served as Deputy Leader of the party and parliamentary leader during the absence of Vojislav Šešelj...
, a member of the NRS, became deputy president. Led by Milošević, the Socialist Party
Socialist Party of Serbia
The Socialist Party of Serbia is officially a democratic socialist political party in Serbia. It is also widely recognized as a de facto Serbian nationalist party, though the party itself does not officially acknowledge this...
(SPS) contributed greatly to the rise of the SRS through its use of the media. With the SRS allowed to promulgate its ultranationalist views on state television, the SPS could present itself as a comparatively moderate, yet still patriotic party. Šešelj promoted popular notions of an "international conspiracy against the Serbs," the foremost of which involved Germany, the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
, the CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
, Italy, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, as well as the centrist Serbian political parties. Such conspiracy theories were also promoted by Milošević-controlled media. In 1991, Šešelj became a Member of Parliament as an independent candidate, and created a belligerent image by engaging in physical fights with opponents of the regime.
Serbian parliamentary election, 1992
Parliamentary elections were held in the Republic of Serbia on December 20, 1992. The vote was held only two years after the previous election, as it was necessitated by the dissolution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia the establishment of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia,...
confirmed the party's rapid rise and made it the second largest parliamentary party. Šešelj campaigned for the election on issues such as driving Albanians
Albanians
Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...
out of Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
to Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
, expelling Muslims from Sandžak
Sandžak
Sandžak also known as Raška is a historical region lying along the border between Serbia and Montenegro...
, and forcing the Croats
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
out of Serbia. Having helped engineer the party's election to parliament, the SPS formed an informal coalition with the SRS, and collaborated on ousting moderate politicians from public office. However, by late 1993 the parties had turned against each other. Milošević saw it necessary to change his policies and distance himself from the SRS in order for his new peacemaking orientation to be taken seriously by the West, as well as to counter the effects of United Nations sanctions against the country. Many socialists also feared competition from the party based on its strong growth record. As discord erupted among the opposition including the SRS, Milošević called new elections in 1993
Serbian parliamentary election, 1993
Parliamentary elections were held in the Republic of Serbia on December 19, 1993. The vote was held less than two years after the previous election. After the elections, the Socialist Party of Serbia formed the government with New Democracy, which had run as part of the Democratic Movement of...
. These cut SRS support almost in half, while the SPS increased its share of the vote from 28% to 38%. Although most people had grown tired of the wars, UN sanctions and the catastrophic economic situation, the SRS had also been subjected to powerful regime propaganda and exclusion by the media. Following Milošević's agreement to the Dayton accords in 1995 to bring peace to Bosnia, Šešelj denounced Milošević as the worst traitor in Serbian history, and likened the event to Serbia's greatest defeat since the Battle of Kosovo
Battle of Kosovo
The Battle of Kosovo took place on St. Vitus' Day, June 15, 1389, between the army led by Serbian Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović, and the invading army of the Ottoman Empire under the leadership of Sultan Murad I...
fought against the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
in 1389.
In 1995, Šešelj and the SRS joined in a "technical coalition" with the centrist Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Serbia)
The Democratic Party is a political party in Serbia. It is described as a social liberal or social democratic party.-Pre-war history:The Democratic Party was established on 16 February 1919 from unification of Sarajevo parties independent radicals, progressives, liberals and the Serbian part of...
(DS) and the Democratic Party of Serbia
Democratic Party of Serbia
The Democratic Party of Serbia is a political party in Serbia.-Foundation:The Democratic Party of Serbia was founded when a faction of the Democratic Party that supported its involvement in the Democratic Movement of Serbia split from the party and formed their own in 1992.Soon after the March...
(DSS). This gave Šešelj a degree of democratic legitimacy, although the coalition withered away by the end of the same year. When Šešelj beat the SPS candidate for the 1997 presidential election, despite the contest being declared invalid due to low turnout, he was again brought into the Serbian government. In 1998 the SRS and SPO entered the so-called "war" government, and as Deputy Prime Minister, Šešelj passed new information laws and helped launch propaganda offensives against Kosovo Albanians
Albanians in Kosovo
Albanians are the largest ethnic group in Kosovo . According to the 1991 Serbian census, boycotted by Albanians, there were 1,596,072 ethnic Albanians in Kosovo or 81.6% of population...
. US officials in turn branded him a "fascist", while the US Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
declared that they would never deal with him. Following the 1999 NATO occupation of Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
, Šešelj resigned from government until his party was enticed to re-enter the administration by the SPS. As the party had held posts under Milošević's regime, it was excluded from the Democratic Opposition of Serbia
Democratic Opposition of Serbia
The Democratic Opposition of Serbia was a wide alliance of political parties in Serbia , formed as a coalition against the ruling Socialist Party of Serbia and its leader, Slobodan Milošević in 2000...
(DOS), and suffered a major defeat in the 2000 parliamentary election
Serbian parliamentary election, 2000
The first free democratic parliamentary election after the fall of Slobodan Milošević was held in the Republic of Serbia on 23 December 2000.-Results:...
when Milošević was ousted.
During the Yugoslav Wars
Yugoslav wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of wars, fought throughout the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1995. The wars were complex: characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs on the one side and Croats and Bosniaks on the other; but also...
some SRS supporters including Šešelj were active in paramilitary units loyal to Milošević, serving as his "iron fist" during military campaigns. Milošević's regime at times supported Šešelj and provided him with arms, whilst at others it accused him of war crimes. The SRS was also provided with resources to establish paramilitary volunteer forces such as the White Eagles
White Eagles (paramilitary)
The White Eagles , also known as the Avengers , were a Serbian paramilitary group associated with the Serbian National Renewal and the Serbian Radical Party...
. As the SRS protested against Milošević's extradition to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
The International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, more commonly referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or ICTY, is a...
(ICTY) in 2001, Milošević urged his supporters to vote for the SRS rather than his own SPS. The ICTY also indicted Šešelj, who has been on trial since 2007 following his surrender in 2003. Deputy President Nikolić became the new de facto SRS leader and presented a more moderate face, with a new approach to international cooperation and a vision of Serbia acting as a "link between the West and the East."
Nikolić leadership
During the 2003 parliamentary electionSerbian parliamentary election, 2003
Parliamentary elections were held in the Republic of Serbia on December 28, 2003. The Republic of Serbia then was one of the two federal units of Serbia and Montenegro, formerly known as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia....
, the SRS condemned cooperation with the war crimes tribunal, corruption scandals in government, poor living standards, and slightly moderated its formerly aggressive rhetoric. While it won a clear plurality with 28% of the vote and 82 seats, the party was still viewed as a pariah by its democratic rivals and was thus left in opposition. In the 2007 parliamentary election
Serbian parliamentary election, 2007
Parliamentary elections took place in Serbia on 21 January 2007. The first session of the new National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia was held on 14 February 2007....
it won 29% of the vote and 81 seats. The SRS caucus in parliament elected Nikolić as its president and Aleksandar Vučić
Aleksandar Vucic
Aleksandar Vučić is a Serbian politician, Deputy President of the Serbian Progressive Party. He is a former secretary-general of the Serbian Radical Party and was President of the Serbian Radical Party's city parliamentary club before joining the Serbian Progressive Party. Besides Serbian,...
vice-president. Nikolić was later chosen as parliamentary speaker, supported by the DSS amidst a deadlock in coalition talks. He stepped down just five days later, as the DS and DSS agreed to form a coalition government.
At the National Assembly's first session on 14 February 2007, politicians voted overwhelmingly to reject the proposal by UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari
Martti Ahtisaari
Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari is a Finnish politician, the tenth President of Finland , Nobel Peace Prize laureate and United Nations diplomat and mediator, noted for his international peace work....
on the preliminary resolution of the status of Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
. New elections were called in 2008 as the DS-DSS coalition collapsed due to EU recognition of Kosovo's declaration of independence
2008 Kosovo declaration of independence
The 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence was adopted on 17 February 2008 by individual members of the Assembly of Kosovo acting in personal capacity and not binding to the Assembly itself...
. In the 2008 parliamentary election
Serbian parliamentary election, 2008
A pre-term parliamentary election was held in the Serbia on 11 May 2008, barely a year after the previous parliamentary election. There were 6,749,886 eligible electors who were able to vote in 8,682 voting places, as well as 157 special voting places designed for refugees from...
the SRS again won 29% of the vote, and 78 seats, leading to the formation of a DS-SPS-led government coalition. The party also won 17 seats in the Kosovska Mitrovica
Kosovska Mitrovica
Kosovska Mitrovica , is a city and municipality in northern Kosovo. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous district....
-based Community Assembly of Kosovo and Metohija consisting of Kosovan Serb municipalities who defied Kosovo's declaration of independence.
Split of Nikolić and Vučić for SNS
After disagreements with Šešelj, on 8 September 2008, Nikolić formed the new parliamentary group Napred Srbijo! ("Forward Serbia!") along with a number of other SRS members. Šešelj responded with a letter on 11 September addressed to SRS members, in which he condemned the Nikolić group as "traitors" and "Western puppets", while calling on SRS members to remain loyal to the ideologies of "Serbian nationalism, anti-globalism, and RussophiliaRussophilia
Russophilia is the love of Russia and/or Russians. The term is used in two basic contexts: in international politics and in cultural context. "Russophilia" and "Russophilic" are the terms used to denote pro-Russian sentiments, usually in politics and literature...
." Nikolić and his group were officially expelled from the SRS the next day, in response to which Nikolić announced that he would form his own party. On 14 September, SRS general secretary Aleksandar Vučić
Aleksandar Vucic
Aleksandar Vučić is a Serbian politician, Deputy President of the Serbian Progressive Party. He is a former secretary-general of the Serbian Radical Party and was President of the Serbian Radical Party's city parliamentary club before joining the Serbian Progressive Party. Besides Serbian,...
also resigned from the SRS. Nikolić and Vučić then launched the Serbian Progressive Party
Serbian Progressive Party
The Serbian Progressive Party is a right-wing political party in Serbia.-History:The Serbian Progressive Party formed as a group of breakaway MPs in parliament from the Serbian Radical Party led by Tomislav Nikolić over disagreements about the direction of the party. Its founding congress was...
(SNS) on 21 October of the same year.
Following their departure, Dragan Todorović
Dragan Todorovic (politician)
Not to be confused with Dragan Todorović, Yugoslavian writerDragan Todorović is a Serbian politician, vice-president of the Serbian Radical Party. He was Radical Party representative in the Parliaments of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro...
took over as the party's acting leader from Nikolić; however the office of deputy chairman was officially abolished. By April 2011 the SRS had about 7% of support in opinion polls, while the SNS coalition, which included the New Serbia
New Serbia
New Serbia is a political party in Serbia. It was created in 1997 by a number of dissidents from the Serbian Renewal Movement....
party (NS), held about 40%.
Ideology
The party's core ideology is based on Serbian nationalismSerbdom
Serbdom is an ambiguous term used by ethnic Serbs to denote a type of patriotism or solidarity of the Serbian people. It is distinguished from Serbian nationalism by lack of a political agenda and absence of antagonistic or aggressive attitudes...
, and it subscribes to the idea of Greater Serbia
Greater Serbia
The term Greater Serbia or Great Serbia applies to the Serbian nationalist and irredentist ideology directed towards the creation of a Serbian land which would incorporate all regions of traditional significance to the Serbian nation...
which, according to Šešelj, is the raison d'être of the party. The party also describes itself as anti-globalist
Anti-globalization movement
The anti-globalization movement, or counter-globalisation movement, is critical of the globalization of corporate capitalism. The movement is also commonly referred to as the global justice movement, alter-globalization movement, anti-globalist movement, anti-corporate globalization movement, or...
, and wants to abandon Serbian attempts to become a member of the European Union. Instead, it aims to establish pan-Slavic "brotherly" ties with Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, as well as ties with China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, and to unite all Balkan Serbs into a single country. In 2007 it advocated the use of force to block the independence of Kosovo. The party remains loyal to the legacy of late President Milošević, and would bring an end to searches for fugitives wanted by the ICTY such as Ratko Mladić
Ratko Mladić
Ratko Mladić is an accused war criminal and a former Bosnian Serb military leader. On May 31, 2011, Mladić was extradited to The Hague, where he was processed at the detention center that holds suspects for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia...
and Radovan Karadžić
Radovan Karadžic
Radovan Karadžić is a former Bosnian Serb politician. He is detained in the United Nations Detention Unit of Scheveningen, accused of war crimes committed against Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats during the Siege of Sarajevo, as well as ordering the Srebrenica massacre.Educated as a...
; the party regards both to be "Serbian heroes".
Under the leadership of Nikolić the party steered more towards the centre of Serbian politics, focusing on social issues such as unemployment and poverty rather than militant nationalism. Nikolić and his supporters eventually broke away from the party in 2008 due to his support for the accession of Serbia to the European Union
Accession of Serbia to the European Union
The accession of Serbia to the European Union is the process of the Republic of Serbia being admitted into the framework of the European Union as a full-fledged member state.Serbia officially applied for European Union membership on 22 December 2009...
, which conflicted with the position of Šešelj's group who thereafter maintained the party's hardline ideology.
International relations
The SRS has maintained ties with Vladimir ZhirinovskyVladimir Zhirinovsky
Vladimir Volfovich Zhirinovsky is a Russian politician, colonel of the Russian Army, founder and the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia , Vice-Chairman of the State Duma, and a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe....
and his Liberal Democratic Party of Russia
Liberal Democratic Party of Russia
The Liberal Democratic Party of Russia , Liberal'no-Demokraticheskaya Partiya Rossii is a political party in Russia. Since its founding in 1991, it has been led by the charismatic and controversial figure Vladimir Zhirinovsky...
, as well as France's Jean-Marie Le Pen
Jean-Marie Le Pen
Jean-Marie Le Pen is a French far right-wing and nationalist politician who is founder and former president of the Front National party. Le Pen has run for the French presidency five times, most notably in 2002, when in a surprise upset he came second, polling more votes in the first round than...
and his National Front. The party formerly counted Iraq's Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
and the Ba'ath Party as one of its political and financial backers, as the parties found common cause in defiance of the United States. Similar sentiment led the party to back Libya's Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
following the 2011 military intervention in Libya
2011 military intervention in Libya
On 19 March 2011, a multi-state coalition began a military intervention in Libya to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, which was taken in response to events during the 2011 Libyan civil war...
by NATO. Serbia and Libya had maintained good relations since Gaddafi vocally opposed NATO intervention in Serbia in the 1990s, while he also backed Serbia's opposition to Kosovo's independence.
Leadership
- Vojislav ŠešeljVojislav ŠešeljVojislav Šešelj, JD is a Serbian politician, writer and lawyer. He is the founder and president of the Serbian Radical Party and was vice-president of Serbia between 1998 and 2000...
(1991–present) (President; imprisoned at the ICTYInternational Criminal Tribunal for the former YugoslaviaThe International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, more commonly referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or ICTY, is a...
since 2003)- Tomislav NikolićTomislav NikolicTomislav "Toma" Nikolić is a Serbian politician, President of the Serbian Progressive Party. He is also a former member of the Serbian Radical Party, where he served as Deputy Leader of the party and parliamentary leader during the absence of Vojislav Šešelj...
(2003–2008) (Deputy President; acting for Šešelj) - Dragan TodorovićDragan Todorovic (politician)Not to be confused with Dragan Todorović, Yugoslavian writerDragan Todorović is a Serbian politician, vice-president of the Serbian Radical Party. He was Radical Party representative in the Parliaments of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro...
(2008–present) (Acting for Šešelj)
- Tomislav Nikolić
Electoral performance
The election record of the SRS has generally been strong, at times the party won well over 20% in parliamentary elections, rendering it the largest or second largest party in Serbia. In presidential elections, its historic contenders Šešelj and Nikolić have reached the presidential run-off twice each, although they have ultimately failed (narrowly) to win the office of president. Since Nikolić split off the SRS an founded a new party in 2008, the SRS has however seen a significant drop in opinion polls.Parliamentary elections
| Election year | # of total votes | % of overall vote | # of seats won |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 Serbian parliamentary election, 1992 Parliamentary elections were held in the Republic of Serbia on December 20, 1992. The vote was held only two years after the previous election, as it was necessitated by the dissolution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia the establishment of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia,... |
1,066,765 | 22.6% | 73 |
| 1993 Serbian parliamentary election, 1993 Parliamentary elections were held in the Republic of Serbia on December 19, 1993. The vote was held less than two years after the previous election. After the elections, the Socialist Party of Serbia formed the government with New Democracy, which had run as part of the Democratic Movement of... |
595,467 | 13.9% | 39 |
| 1997 Serbian parliamentary election, 1997 The elections for the Parliament of the Republic of Serbia held on 21 September 1997. Out of a total 7,210,386 voters, 4.139.080 voted. 164,307 ballots were invalid:... |
1,162,216 | 28.1% | 82 |
| 2000 Serbian parliamentary election, 2000 The first free democratic parliamentary election after the fall of Slobodan Milošević was held in the Republic of Serbia on 23 December 2000.-Results:... |
322,333 | 8.6% | 23 |
| 2003 Serbian parliamentary election, 2003 Parliamentary elections were held in the Republic of Serbia on December 28, 2003. The Republic of Serbia then was one of the two federal units of Serbia and Montenegro, formerly known as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.... |
1,069,212 | 27.6% | 82 |
| 2007 Serbian parliamentary election, 2007 Parliamentary elections took place in Serbia on 21 January 2007. The first session of the new National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia was held on 14 February 2007.... |
1,153,453 | 28.6% | 81 |
| 2008 Serbian parliamentary election, 2008 A pre-term parliamentary election was held in the Serbia on 11 May 2008, barely a year after the previous parliamentary election. There were 6,749,886 eligible electors who were able to vote in 8,682 voting places, as well as 157 special voting places designed for refugees from... |
1,219,436 | 29.5% | 78 |
Presidential elections
| Election year | Candidate | # of 1st round votes | % of 1st round vote | # of 2nd round votes | % of 2nd round vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997* | Vojislav Šešelj Vojislav Šešelj Vojislav Šešelj, JD is a Serbian politician, writer and lawyer. He is the founder and president of the Serbian Radical Party and was vice-president of Serbia between 1998 and 2000... |
1,126,940 | 27.3% | 1,733,859 | 49.1% |
| 1997 Serbian presidential election, December 1997 Presidential election was held in December 1997 for the new President of the Republic of Serbia -References:*... |
Vojislav Šešelj Vojislav Šešelj Vojislav Šešelj, JD is a Serbian politician, writer and lawyer. He is the founder and president of the Serbian Radical Party and was vice-president of Serbia between 1998 and 2000... |
1,227,076 | 32.2% | 1,383,868 | 37.6% |
| 2002* | Vojislav Šešelj Vojislav Šešelj Vojislav Šešelj, JD is a Serbian politician, writer and lawyer. He is the founder and president of the Serbian Radical Party and was vice-president of Serbia between 1998 and 2000... |
845,308 | 23.2% | — | — |
| 2002 Serbian presidential election, December 2002 The Serbian presidential election, held on December 8, 2002, was a repeat of the first presidential election of that year, which was invalidated because the turnout during that round was less than 50% of all eligible voters... * |
Vojislav Šešelj Vojislav Šešelj Vojislav Šešelj, JD is a Serbian politician, writer and lawyer. He is the founder and president of the Serbian Radical Party and was vice-president of Serbia between 1998 and 2000... |
1,063,296 | 36.1% | — | — |
| 2003* | Tomislav Nikolić Tomislav Nikolic Tomislav "Toma" Nikolić is a Serbian politician, President of the Serbian Progressive Party. He is also a former member of the Serbian Radical Party, where he served as Deputy Leader of the party and parliamentary leader during the absence of Vojislav Šešelj... |
1,166,896 | 47.9% | — | — |
| 2004 Serbian presidential election, 2004 Serbia held the first round of its 2004 elections for President of Serbia on Sunday, 13 June 2004, and the second round on Sunday, 27 June 2004. Boris Tadić, the pro-western Democratic Party's candidate, was the eventual victor... |
Tomislav Nikolić Tomislav Nikolic Tomislav "Toma" Nikolić is a Serbian politician, President of the Serbian Progressive Party. He is also a former member of the Serbian Radical Party, where he served as Deputy Leader of the party and parliamentary leader during the absence of Vojislav Šešelj... |
954,339 | 30.6% | 1,434,068 | 45.4% |
| 2008 Serbian presidential election, 2008 A pre-term presidential election was held in Serbia on January 20 and February 3, 2008. Incumbent President Boris Tadić was reelected as President of Serbia in the second round with 51.61 percent of the votes cast, defeating challenger Tomislav Nikolić.... |
Tomislav Nikolić Tomislav Nikolic Tomislav "Toma" Nikolić is a Serbian politician, President of the Serbian Progressive Party. He is also a former member of the Serbian Radical Party, where he served as Deputy Leader of the party and parliamentary leader during the absence of Vojislav Šešelj... |
1,646,172 | 40.0% | 2,197,155 | 48.0% |
-
* Election declared invalid due to low turnout.